My Mind on Mortgages

For those of us who have been hoping for the credit markets to show signs of stabilization we can keep on waiting. Freddie Mac announced last week that they would no longer issue or accept underwriting approvals knows as “accept plus” approvals.  These approvals, which were mostly earned by borrowers with high credit scores and [...]

In another sign of the times Wells Fargo announced today that they were eliminating their 30 year fixed mortgage with interest-only payments for the first 10 years. Because Wells Fargo is a bellwether in our industry other lenders are expected to follow suit.

This morning Fannie Mae released updated guideline changes for conforming mortgages.  This is a sign that we can continue to expect tightening in the area of loan approval guidelines which will make it more difficult for borrowers to qualify for loans in the future. I don’t think these changes will drastically impact most real estate [...]

If the Fed’s latest opinion survey is any indication we may not get any relief from continued credit tightening on the part of lenders for some time.  The Federal Reserve Board publishes a periodic report called the, “Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices.”  This report addresses various aspects of residential, commercial, and [...]